The Birgunj Metropolitan City, which suffered huge losses during the Gen Z protest, has managed to restart its operations with help from various organizations.
During the protest on September 8 and 9, major damage was caused to the city’s offices. Documents in 11 main departments and 40 branches were completely burned. Office furniture such as chairs, tables, computers, printers, cabinets, CCTV cameras, and air conditioners were destroyed. Around 36 vehicles, including 18 four-wheelers, were also set on fire. Many office rooms have turned into ruins, with ashes still visible in some areas.
Administrative Chief Arvind Lal Karna said the attack was planned and caused extreme damage. “The destruction is massive. We are now at zero. Even staff have no proper place to sit,” he said. “A technical team has estimated a total loss of Rs 1.15 billion. This is one of the most damaged offices after Singha Durbar.”
After the buildings and branches were burned down, the municipality collected office supplies such as chairs, tables, and computers through donations to continue its work. However, staff said the central government’s restriction on new purchases has made things even more difficult.
“Our first challenge was how to arrange space for staff and provide services to the public,” Karna explained. “With help from donors, we have managed to reopen some main branches.”
Some stolen furniture and computer parts were later recovered by the city police from junkyards and riverbanks.
The municipality received donations from big companies, the pharmaceutical association, the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, and Surya Nepal. These included office tables, chairs, computers, and photocopy machines. After the festival season, the city repaired parts of its damaged structures to reopen the revenue and financial departments.
Karna added that they are slowly managing to restart other departments like mapping, planning, education, law, and internal audit. “We are running two to three departments on a single table if needed,” he said. “The real problem is we don’t even have proper rooms to keep those tables.”
Out of four municipal buildings, two are completely destroyed and unsafe to use.
Hard to Return to Normal
With such large-scale damage, it will be very difficult for the city to return to its previous condition. The municipality has decided to cut its development budget to fund reconstruction. Through a special session, it reduced ward-level budgets by 25% and cut Rs 180 million from the city’s own development budget. The amount will be used through the Disaster Management Committee.
“Expenses increased suddenly, but there was no budget,” Karna said. “So we decided to cut ward budgets by 25% and set aside Rs 180 million for rebuilding work.”
Earlier, Rs 660 million had been allocated for 32 wards.
Development Plans Affected
After the protest, a technical team led by planning chief Awadhesh Kushwaha studied the losses and estimated damages worth Rs 1.15 billion. Due to this, the city’s annual development projects are expected to be heavily affected.
“Until we receive some compensation, things will remain tough,” Karna said. “We are looking for alternatives, but without proper buildings, we don’t even have space to work. It’s still unclear whether the federal or provincial government will rebuild the structures.”
The city estimates that Rs 700–800 million will be required for rebuilding alone. City engineer Rajeev Upadhyaya said the destruction has deeply affected the morale of employees. “We are working in fear. The fire and destruction have taken away our motivation,” he said.
Previously, even during the long six-month Madhes movement in 2015, the Birgunj office had remained unharmed. But this time, it was completely destroyed.
The city of Birgunj was founded in 1897 during the rule of Bir Shumsher as a settlement combining the village of Gahawa and surrounding areas. It became a municipality in 1953, was upgraded to a sub-metropolitan city in 1998, and became a metropolitan city in 2016 after Nepal adopted the federal system.
